Puppet MastersS


Vader

The insidious ISIS-US relationship: The West's tool for terrorizing and destroying countries

Mark Taliano
Global Research
Mon, 02 Oct 2017 17:17 UTC
Obama ISIS ISil
ISIS/Daesh have always been place-setters[1] for the U.S Empire and its Coalition of regime-change criminal cohorts.

Once Daesh is installed in an area, the area is destroyed and depopulated. Syrians flee from terrorist-held areas, to government -secured areas.

Now that the Syrian government and its allies are winning the just war against Western backed, sustained, and integrated terrorists, the West's strategic use of its terror proxies is becoming more apparent.

Video satellite imagery reveals, for example, Western military installations ensconced in Daesh territory. This is normal, because the West and Daesh are comrades-in-arms.

The fact that the "Kurdish" SDF are transparently aligned with ISIS in Deir ez Zor should be of no surprise either, since the SDF are also aligned with the West and its allies, including of course Israel.

Sometimes the terrorists fight each other, but those who pay the salaries and enable the chaos and destruction of Syria are the overlords.

The dirty war exists because of the West and its allies and their regime-change partners. There is nothing humanitarian about it, and it is not a counter-terrorism operation. It is a pro-terrorism regime change/dirty war.
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Wolf

Squeezing Manafort is seen as Mueller attack dog Weissmann's way to snare big prosecution targets in Russiagate witch-hunt

Rowan Scarborough
Washington Times
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 16:50 UTC
manafort
© Matt Rourke/Associated Press/FileFormer Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is sure to be indicted as a result of the Mueller investigation, sources say.
Facing indictment and millions of dollars in legal debts, President Trump's onetime campaign manager maintains his innocence and has nothing incriminating to offer Special Counsel Robert Mueller, associates say.

But Paul Manafort, who once advised Ronald Reagan and went on to build a lucrative political consulting business overseas, knows he is up against one of the Justice Department's most relentless prosecutors.

Andrew Weissmann, who led Justice's fraud division before being reunited with Mr. Mueller, his former FBI boss, has an operational history of going after the relatively small to snare the big.

"I would bet the indictment will be right before Thanksgiving," said Sidney Powell, an appeals lawyer in Dallas who locked horns with Mr. Weissmann's Justice Department task force during the Enron prosecutions of the early 2000s. "Weissmann will want to maximize the trauma to his family."

Comment:

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Mr. Potato

Irrational or too smart? Trump reportedly urges staff to portray him as "crazy guy"

Jonathan Swan
Axios
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 16:53 UTC
Trump
© Joshua Roberts / Reuters
In an Oval Office meeting earlier this month, President Trump gave his top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, an Art of the Deal-style coaching session on how to negotiate with the South Koreans.

Trump's impromptu coaching came in the middle of a pivotal conversation with top officials about whether or not to withdraw from the U.S.-Korean trade deal. Sources familiar with the conversation recounted the exchange for Axios, and the White House did not dispute this account.

A number of senior officials and cabinet secretaries were present for the conversation, including Defense Secretary Mattis, Agriculture Secretary Perdue, and Secretary of State Tillerson. At issue was whether the U.S. would withdraw from the Korean trade deal - an action Trump threatened but still hasn't done.
"You've got 30 days, and if you don't get concessions then I'm pulling out," Trump told Lighthizer.

"Ok, well I'll tell the Koreans they've got 30 days," Lighthizer replied.

"No, no, no," Trump interjected. "That's not how you negotiate. You don't tell them they've got 30 days. You tell them, 'This guy's so crazy he could pull out any minute.'"

"That's what you tell them: Any minute," Trump continued. "And by the way, I might. You guys all need to know I might. You don't tell them 30 days. If they take 30 days they'll stretch this out."

"You tell them if they don't give the concessions now, this crazy guy will pull out of the deal."

Comment: Another area where the technique seems to have worked: illegal immigration.
Under Trump illegal immigrant arrests up, but deportations down

President Donald Trump is on track to deport fewer illegal immigrants this year than were expelled from the country at the same point last year under the Obama administration, government documents show.
...
The perception of tougher enforcement by the Trump administration appears be a deterrent to illegal border crossings. Following Trump's inauguration, the number of people crossing the US border from Mexico illegally has declined dramatically.
See also: North Korea confused by Trump, asking U.S. experts for help: "He's either irrational - or too smart!"

Which is fascinating, because this has actually been North Korea's strategy until Trump came along: North Korea's strategy: Rational player pretending to be irrational

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Question

The Rohingya crisis in Myanmar

Amelia Smith
Middle East Monitor
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 15:57 UTC
Rohingya Myanmar
© Safvan Allahverdi / Anadolu AgencyA Rohingya Muslim woman fled from ongoing military operations in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and is seen holding her children at a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on 20 September 2017 [
"This village is a Muslim-free zone," reads a sign hanging at the entrance to a village in an area of Myanmar outside Rakhine state. The orders are directed at the country's Rohingya population, an ethnic group of around 1.3 million that live mainly in Rakhine and who have been described as the "world's most persecuted minority".

It's not difficult to see why. Since 1992 the Burmese government has imposed heavy restrictions on the Rohingyas. If they want to travel from one town to the other they have to pass immigration checkpoints and to do so the administration must grant them permission.

Because requests are regularly turned down the Rohingyas have become isolated within their own country:

"They've kept us in an open air prison for more than 25 years. Since 1978 they are propagating and they are brain washing the public that these people are invading the country, that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh," says Nay San Lwin, an activist and blogger who has adopted the prefix "Ro" on social media to identify himself as Rohingya.

Comment: As usual, the situation is more complex than presented above. For a detailed history of the 'Rohingya' in Myanmar see here

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Chess

Syrian forces cross the Euphrates upending the neocon strategy of 'safe zones'

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 02 Oct 2017 15:20 UTC
russian bridge Euphrates Deir Ezzor
© Zvezda TV
Syrian forces with the support of their Russian and Iranian allies, crossed the Euphrates River near the city of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria.

The move is not only a significant step forward in restoring security nationwide and ensuring the nation's territorial integrity, it is also a significant step toward turning the tables on the very interests who provoked and have perpetuated this conflict since 2011.

US policymakers as early as 2012 openly declared their intent to partition Syria through the use of "safe zones" or "buffer zones." From these zones - established with and protected by direct US military intervention - militant proxies would attempt to expand deeper into Syrian territory until the nation could either be toppled entirely, or sufficiently partitioned, effectively eliminating the Syrian Arab Republic as it was known before the conflict began.

Comment: The Iraqi Kurds have already realized their position vis a vis Baghdad and have approached the government for negotiations. Will the Syrian Kurds come to the same conclusion?

Breaking ranks: Iraq Kurdistan Regional Government dissolves High Referendum Council

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Attention

End the violence: Corbyn says May should urge Spanish PM to curb police violence over Catalan independence


RT
Mon, 02 Oct 2017 14:47 UTC
Catalonia independence
© Susan Vera / ReutersSpanish Civil Guard officers remove demonstrators outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain, October 1, 2017.
Prime Minister Theresa May should wade in on the Catalan independence referendum debacle after violence rocked the Spanish region this weekend, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Bloody scenes were broadcast from Spain after Catalonia held an independence referendum deemed illegal by the Spanish government and the Civil Guard was called in.

Rubber bullets were fired into the crowd and civilians struck by baton wielding officers.

The European Union was silent as the world watched in horror.

However, May is being called upon to act.


Comment: Catalonia heads to the polls for independence referendum amid violent police measures - UPDATES

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Megaphone

Catalan independence: 5 important things to consider

Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 01:59 UTC
Catalonia independence march
© Ignasi‏/Twitter
Catalan independence can be good or bad - it depends on the Catalan people to make it good, or else it likely will be bad.

Headlines and commentary across both Eastern and Western media have mainly focused on the Catalan independence referendum and the actions of Spanish police and the Spanish government's attempts to disrupt polls.

However, little is being said about what the real implications of Catalan independence may be. What do those politicians in Catalonia in favor of independence seek to do with it should they succeed? Will they create a Catalonia that serves the best interests of the people? Or serve the EU and NATO more efficiently and eagerly than a united Spain ever could?

There are 5 points those following this conflict should know and keep in mind as events unfold:

Comment: Is the Catalan referendum is a classic bait-and-switch operation by Barcelona?

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Black Cat

Is the Catalan referendum a classic bait-and-switch operation by Barcelona?

Andrew Korybko
The Duran
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 01:38 UTC
catalonia spain independence separatist movement
© Albert Gea / ReutersPeople hold Catalan separatist flags known as "Esteladas" during a gathering to mark the Calatalonia day "Diada" in central Barcelona.
The economic elite in Barcelona merely plan to swap Madrid for Brussels as their preferred patron, and are relying on demagogic distractions such as the referendum in order to mislead the Catalan public into thinking that they're voting for "independence".

Everyone gets it - the Catalan referendum has exposed the very deep hypocrisy of the Spanish and EU ruling elite, especially in regards to their support for separatist causes elsewhere in the world and the harsh criticism that they regularly dish out anytime governments in the Global South are even suspected of using force against their citizens.

These are very powerful points that are insightful for the larger audience to dwell upon, but when dealing with the specific issue of Catalan separatism, rhetorical schadenfreude isn't a solid basis for approaching the issue. While it's true that the Catalan Controversy is a long and storied one, it's also equally true that the Spanish Constitution forbids separatism, thereby making this "solution" to the problem illegal.

Comment: An interesting and little-discussed possibility.

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Question

Breaking ranks: Iraq Kurdistan Regional Government dissolves High Referendum Council

Translated by Samer Hussein
Fort Russ News
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 01:45 UTC
Kurd referendum posters
© ReutersAn old man rides a bike near banners supporting the Kurdish referendum in the capital city of Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Iraqi Kurds begin dialogue with Baghdad

The authorities in Iraqi autonomous province of Kurdistan have announced dissolution of the High Referendum Council, and the formation of a provincial political council that will begin dialogue with the central government in Baghdad.
Council member Khalil Ibrahim said the Council's tasks were completed and that the Council of Political Leadership of the Kurds was formed instead.

The now former High Referendum Council was set up to lobby for the Kurdistan independence vote.

Members of the newly formed Council have already expressed their appreciation of the position on reconciliation held by the newly formed initiative led by Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, a senior religious figure who in the past often stressed the importance of dialogue between the parties, noting that the Council will begin talks with Baghdad in order to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the country.

Via Breakingnews.sy
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Snakes in Suits

Pyongyang threatens 'old psychopath' Trump with 'doomsday in the US'


RT
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 20:40 UTC
Statue of Liberty US America
© Brendan McDermid / Reuters
The Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC) has described US president Donald Trump as an "old psychopath of America," warning in a statement that Trump's "reckless behavior" towards Pyongyang will only precipitate the "doomsday of the US."

"We once again warn the old psychopath of America against his hysteria. His brandishing of the 'sanctions' club and muscle-flexing with tiger-moth-like bombers before the fire-ready revolutionary forces of the DPRK (North Korea) is just a suicidal act of inviting a nuclear disaster that will reduce America into a sea of flames," a statement carried by the official KCNA news said.

"The more reckless behavior of Trump ignorant of himself and the rival will only harden the retaliatory will of the army and people of the DPRK (North Korea) against the US. It will precipitate the doomsday of the US. Trump should bear this in mind," the statement, released on Sunday, noted.
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